Brewer

ABSTRACT

A brewer, system and method for heating water and dispensing heated water for producing a brewed beverage The brewer includes a water reservoir with a heating element associated with the reservoir for heating water retained in the reservoir A brewing substance holder is associated with the reservoir for receiving heated water from the reservoir A temperature sensitive control valve is provided in communication with the reservoir for controllably dispensing heated water from the reservoir to the brewing substance holder The temperature sensitive control valve may be in the form of a passive control valve which uses a bimetallic, magnetic or other material which is responsive to heat The water is placed in the reservoir and heated The elevated temperature of the water will result in operating the heat sensitive control valve to open the control valve and allow water to pass from the reservoir to the brewing substance holder.

CROSS-REFERENCE

This patent application claims priority to U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/149,955, filed Feb. 4, 2009. The disclosure set forthin the referenced provisional application is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety, including all information as originallysubmitted to the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to beverage preparation apparatus,namely, brewers for infusing a beverage making substance with a heatedsubstance such as water to produce a beverage.

A variety of beverage brewers have been developed which can be dividedinto two general classes. The two classes of beverage making equipmentgenerally include pour-over brewers and boil-over or “burp and boil”brewers. There are differences and benefits associated with the use of apour-over brewer compared to a burp and boil brewer. These differencesgenerally relate to the speed with which a beverage can be produced aswell as the quality of the beverage produced. The burp and boil brewerstend to take a considerably longer amount of time to produce the samevolume of beverage and tend to brew the beverage at a temperature whichmay not be controlled and may be too hot to obtain an optimum brewedbeverage.

The pour-over brewing system generally includes a heated reservoir whichretains a volume of heated water. A quantity of water is added to thereservoir to displace the heated water thereby displacing or drivingheated water out of the reservoir and into a brew basket or funnelportion of the apparatus which retains a brewing substance for brewingwith the heated water. Since the water is provided in a heated conditionand merely displaced by water entering the heated reservoir, thepour-over brewer operates as a “on demand” brewer. Additionally, thewater added to the heated reservoir can be heated during the brewingcycle to increase the through put of brewing cycles. Additionally, thetemperature can be better controlled since the motive force to dispensethe heated water is the displacement of the heated water from thereservoir.

In contrast, a burp and boil system generally provides longer brew timesand less temperature control resulting in less controllable resultantbrew characteristics. The burp and boil system operates by providing areservoir for receiving water which feeds a heated water line. Theheated water line is heated by a resistance heating configuration. Thewater line is connected to the reservoir thereby providing a source ofwater to fill the water line. As water enters the line while the line isheated, water rapidly is heated, boils and expands out of the line andinto the brewing substance. A less desirable side effect of this processis that the water must be heated to boiling or near boiling to be movedthrough the brewing cycle. In other words, the motive force for movingwater from the reservoir through the brewing apparatus is the boilingprocess.

It has been reasoned that it may be desirable to increase the efficiencyof the energy used to brew a beverage. In both of the two general typesof brewing apparatus a relatively considerable amount of energy can beexpended to produce a brewed beverage. The pour-over system conservesenergy by using a lower temperature than the burp and boil system.However, an incremental amount of energy must be used to maintain thewater in the reservoir at a desired temperature. In the burp and boilsystem, energy might be conserved by not maintaining a reservoir ofwater at a desired temperature but a considerable amount of energy mustbe spent to rapidly raise the temperature of the water to produce theboiling motive effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The present disclosure will be described hereafter with reference to theattached drawings which are given as a non-limiting example only, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a general diagrammatic illustration of a brewer including areservoir for receiving water for use in a brewing process, a brewingsubstance holder for retaining brewing substance during the brewingprocess and receiving water from the reservoir, and a container forreceiving brewed beverage dispensed from the substance holder andfurther including a heating element, controllable valve, and supportstructure;

FIG. 2 is a general diagrammatic illustration of a brewer as disclosedin FIG. 1 further including a sensor for detecting the presence orabsence of water in the reservoir, a sensor for detecting the presenceor absence of the brewing substance holder, a detector for sensing thepresence or absence of a container, a power supply for use incontrolling the heating element, and a controller coupled to the sensorsand power supply for controlling the operation of the energy conservingbrewer;

FIG. 3 is a general diagrammatic illustration of a brewer including areservoir positioned above a brewing substance holder, a containerposition there below, and a heating element assembly including paths toand from the reservoir for heating water in the reservoir through acircuitous route from the reservoir through the heater and back to thereservoir, and a bimetallic valve structure for controllably releasingheated water from the reservoir to the brewing substance holder;

FIG. 4 is a general diagrammatic embodiment of a brewer similar to thatas in FIG. 3 further including a first reservoir or chamber and secondreservoir or chamber positioned below the first reservoir with waterbeing heated by the circuitous heating method as shown in FIG. 3resulting in activation of a bimetallic valve in the first chamber anddraining of heated water from the first chamber to the second chamberthere below to prevent over heating of water in the first chamber;

FIG. 5 is a more detailed illustration of one form of a bimetallic valvefor use in the brewer as disclosed, the bimetallic valve assembly beingshown in a perspective view;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the bimetallic valve assemblyas shown in FIG. 5 including a cover portion, a base portion, abimetallic disk, a corresponding seal positioned between the bimetallicdisk and the base portion, and an o-ring for use on the outside of thebase portion, a drain tube extending from an offset position in the baseportion extending downwardly and attachable to a spray head at thedistal end thereof;

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the bimetallic valve assembly as shownin FIGS. 5 and 6;

FIG. 8 is a bottom plan view of the bimetallic valve assembly;

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a general diagrammatic illustration of a version ofa bimetallic valve assembly in a closed position and an open position,respectively; and

FIGS. 11 and 12 show a general diagrammatic illustration of an alternateembodiment of a valve assembly employing a temperature sensitivemagnetic material which retains magnetic properties at a lowertemperature and has reduced or eliminated magnetic properties at anelevated temperature resulting in the ability to attract or release acorresponding ball or other component for sealing an outlet opening.

The exemplification set out herein illustrates embodiments of thedisclosure that are not to be construed as limiting the scope of thedisclosure in any manner. Additional features of the present disclosurewill become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration ofthe following detailed description of illustrative embodimentsexemplifying modes of carrying out the disclosure as presentlyperceived.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While the present disclosure may be susceptible to embodiment indifferent forms, there is shown in the drawings, and herein will bedescribed in detail, embodiments with the understanding that the presentdescription is to be considered an exemplification of the principles ofthe disclosure and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit thedisclosure to the details of construction and the arrangements ofcomponents set forth in the following description or illustrated in thedrawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, a brewer 20 is shown. The brewer includes a supportstructure 24. The support structure 24 includes a reservoir 28 dependingtherefrom, a brewing substance holder 32 depending from a support member34 and/or the reservoir, and a container 38 positioned proximate to thebrewing substance holder 32 and reservoir 28. The illustration of FIG. 1is shown in broad general diagrammatic illustration form to conveyinformation relating to the general concepts of the brewer. A morespecific embodiment follows and will be described with reference to FIG.2.

With reference to FIG. 1, the cross sectional view reservoir 28 shows anopen upper portion 40 for receiving water 42 therein. Once water ispoured into the reservoir a control valve 46 positioned generally at alower end of the reservoir 28 prevents water from draining from thereservoir 28 to the brewing substance holder 32. The control valve 46will be described in greater detail below. A heating element 50 isprovided generally in the reservoir or otherwise proximate to thereservoir for the transferring heat energy to water in the reservoir. Asshown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, power is supplied through an electricalconnection 52 to the heating element 50. The heating element 50 isprovided by way of illustration and not limitation and it is envisionedthat other forms of heating elements which might be used with such asystem are included within the scope of this disclosure.

The brewing substance holder 32 provides a vessel for retaining a volumeof brewing substance 56. As shown, the brewing substance 56 is in theform of ground coffee, tea or other brewing substance of a known type.This brewing material 56 is retained in a filter 58 retained within theholder 32. Water 60 is dispensed from the reservoir 28 through thecontrol valve 46 and flows into the holder 32. The water 60 thereuponmixes with the brewing substance 56 which allows brewed beverage 64 todrain from the holder to the container 38. While a brewing substanceholder for use with a brewing substance as generally known in the art isdisclosed, it is envisioned that other brewing substances may be used inthis embodiment. Additionally, other versions of the filter 58 such as apermanent filter or structures of the holder 32 which include otherconstructions are fully anticipated as being included within thisdisclosure. For example, coffee pouches, packets, pods or other selfcontained brewing substance and filter structures can be placed in theholder 32 for infusion by the water 60. Once infused, brewed beverage 64flows into the container 38.

Terms including beverage, brewed, brewing, brewing substance, brewedliquid, and brewed beverage as may be used herein are intended to bebroadly defined as including, but not limited to, the brewing of coffee,tea and any other beverages. This broad interpretation is also intendedto include, but is not limited to any process of dispensing, infusing,steeping, reconstituting, diluting, dissolving, saturating or passing aliquid through or otherwise mixing or combining a beverage substancewith a liquid such as water without limitation to the temperature ofsuch liquid unless specified. This broad interpretation is also intendedto include, but is not limited to beverage substances such as groundcoffee, tea, liquid beverage concentrate, powdered beverage concentrate,flaked, granular, freeze dried or other forms of materials includingliquid, gel, crystal or other forms of beverage or food materials toobtain a desired beverage or other food product.

While the embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 generally does not provide asignificant amount of circuitry other than the heating element 50 andassociated power source 52, a thermostat 70 can be incorporated in thisembodiment to prevent overheating. The thermostat 70 is positioned in orproximate to the reservoir 28 and coupled to the power source 52. If anoverheating condition is detected, the thermostat 70 can open thecircuit associated with the power source 52 thereby curtailing theaddition of energy to the reservoir 28. This provides an additionallevel of safety in the event that water drains from the reservoir andthe heater 50 is allowed to continue to heat unchecked. Additionally, acontrol switch 74 can be provided on the support structure 24 andcoupled to the power source 52. The control switch 74 can be in the formof a simple timer switch which remains closed for a predetermined periodof time generally associated with the time required to heat a volume ofwater placed in the reservoir 28. This would allow a precalculation ofheating time whereupon after the lapsing of this time power to theheating element 50 would be terminated.

While there are any number of controls which might be added,interconnected or otherwise used with this brewer 20 one of the heatingcontrols is the controllable valve 46. The controllable valve 46 isenvisioned as being a passive valve such that it does not require anelectrical connection to operate the valve. An example of an activevalve might be an electrically controlled solenoid valve. However, it isenvisioned that the controllable valve 46 might be of a construction touse a control material such as a bimetallic material, shaped memoryalloy material, or a thermally sensitive magnetic material having apredetermined Curie point. The use of a passive valve helps to improvethe performance of this system and the efficiency of this system. Theuse of a passive valve will allow the system to be predesigned with avalve that opens at a desired brewing temperature. For example, if thevalve opens when a relevant volume of water in contact with the valvereaches a predetermined temperature, for example 190° F., the valve willopen and start dispensing water from the reservoir 28 to the endsubstance holder 32.

The valve 46 is in a normally closed state and will remain open after adesired temperature is achieved. Also, the valve 46 is designed and/orconfigured to remain open for a predetermined period of time after thedraining of water from the reservoir 28. The timing is based ontemperature change of the control material used in the valve. Thisprevents premature closing and thorough emptying of the reservoir 28. Anadditional benefit of remaining open for a predetermined period of timeis to allow the removal, evaporation, or draining of water from thevalve. This helps to prevent the accumulation of lime on the valve. Limeis further inhibited by the draining of the tank at the end of eachcycle. If water does not remain in the reservoir very little dissolvedminerals will be available to develop lime scale in the valve in thereservoir and the opening in the valve.

The control valve 46 can be a device that performs multiple functions.The valve can be configured to provide a slow control as well as toprovide a pattern in the spray head to produce a desired water deliveryor spray pattern. In this configuration, the surface of the valve 46closest to the funnel 32 can be in the form of a spray head. Spray headsare generally known in the art. The spray head can be configured withany desirable surface characteristics such as a convex curve as well asany other characteristics such as slots, holes, mesh or other features.The goal of the spray head is to provide a distribution of water overthe brewing substance 56 retained in the funnel 32 to produce a selectedresult.

Additionally, the control valve 46 can be permanently fastened to thereservoir 28 or may be designed to be removable. If the control valve 46is permanently attached it can be molded into the reservoir 28 or can befastened after formation of the reservoir. The valve 46 can be fastenedpermanently or removably to allow removal of the valve for cleaning orother purposes. Alternatively, if the control valve is removable, it canbe removable to allow replacement of other similarly dimensioned controlvalves to provide different functions and/or characteristics. In thisregard, a control valve might be provided with or without a spray head,to provide a predetermined flow rate or any other features. For example,one valve might be designed and configured for use in brewing coffee.Another valve might be designed and configured for use in brewing tea.The tea-brewing version of the valve might be designed so as to producea slower flow rate to increase the steep time associated with the use oftea brewing substance. Similarly, the control valve used for brewing teamay be configured to open at a lower temperature such that, for example,160° may be a more desirable temperature for brewing a particular typeof tea rather than 195° F. which might be used for brewing coffee. Assuch, the use of different valves can provide different results andallow the user to modify the machine for specific uses.

As an additional matter, the body may be adjustable to allow thereservoir and funnel to be raised relative to the container 38 used withthe brewer. In this embodiment, the body 24 is configured with anadjustable portion to allow the user to disengage a retaining mechanism,adjust the body to the desired dimension, and then retain the desiredadjustment with the retaining device. This adjustability allows acontainer of different sizes to be used with the brewer 20.

Also, a secondary reservoir can be attached to the body 24 to provide aholding chamber for liquid beverage concentrate, milk, or otheringredients. In this regard, the secondary reservoir provides a dispensepath which feeds into the funnel 32 or container 38 to accommodate thedispensing of other ingredients into the hot water.

The present disclosure allows for removal of the holder 32 from thebrewer 20 at the end of a brewing cycle. Additionally, the container 38can be removed for serving or, if it is a smaller volume for drinking.

With reference to FIG. 2, a brewer similar to that as shown in FIG. 1 isshown. Since the design of the two brewers is very similar thedescription of the components in FIG. 2 which are similar to oridentical to that as shown in FIG. 1 will be described using the samereference numbers with the addition of an alphabetic suffix, forexample, reservoir 28 a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the reservoir 28 a provides water to the substanceholder 32 which drains into a container 38. Brewing substance 56retained in the filter 58 is infused with water 42 heated by anddispensed from the reservoir 28 a. The support structure 24 a furtherincludes support or housing for circuitry 80 as described in greaterdetail below. The support structure 24 a and that as shown in FIG. 1provides a convenient and efficient way to present or otherwise alignand orient the substance holder 32 with the container 38. The circuitry80 can include a sensor 82 for detecting a level of water in thereservoir. In other words, the sensor will detect a level of water inthe reservoir and provide a signal to a controller 84 associated withthe support. As such, the control 84 can be configured to control theoperation of the heating element 50 in response to the presence orabsence of water as detected by the sensor 82. Similarly, a sensor 86 isprovided to detect the presence or absence of the holder 32. This sensor86 is also connected to the controller 84. Finally a sensor 88 may beprovided to detect the presence or absence of the container 38.Likewise, the sensor 88 is coupled to the controller 84 for providinginformation for use and controlling the brewer 20 a. The controller iscoupled to the power source 52 and a control switch 74.

In use, a lid 90 may be displaced to allow water 42 to be placed in thereservoir 28 a. Once the controller 84 detects the presence of water 82and detects the presence of a holder 32 and a container 38 the brewingcycle can be initiated. If one of the three signals cannot be detectedthen the brewing cycle is halted. In other words, if water 42 isdetected in the reservoir 28 a and the container 38 are detected but aholder 32 is not detected the controller 84 can halt the brewingprocess. This eliminates just creating heated water. Similarly, if thestart switch 74 is activated but no water is detected the controller 84can halt the brewing process. Otherwise heat would be provided to theheating element 50 in the absence of water and could damage the heatingelement or the brewer. Finally, the brewing process will also be haltedif a container 38 is not presence. This helps eliminate a mess whichmight otherwise occur if the brewing process was allowed to proceed inthe absence of a container. The controller 84 is coupled to a powersupply or control 92, if necessary, coupled to the heating element 50.By relying upon a passive control valve 46 the valve will not openunless the water is heated. If the controller primarily controls theheating of the water the system will remain at steady state unless poweris provided to the heating element 50. In other words, if a fault signalassociated with a missing component such as water 42, holder 32, orcontainer 38 is detected the brewing process is halted. However, onceall the essential components are in place the brewing process willcontinue upon activating the start switch 74. Once a desired brewingtemperature is achieved the valve 46 will open to allow drainage of thewater there through. The valve as shown in FIG. 2 can be configured inthe form of a spray head to distribute water over the brewing substance56 in a desired pattern.

An additional degree of control can be provided in association with thebrewer 20 a by using the heating element 50 to impact the flow of waterfrom the reservoir 28 a. In this regard, energy can be provided to theheating elements whereupon the elements heat up, transfer the heat tothe water and the reservoir and then cause the valve to open. Byterminating power to the heating elements a degree of control can beachieved which allows the valve to close if sufficient cooling occurs.The valve can be opened again to increase the flow after a steep time orotherwise halting the water flow by reenergizing the heating elements.Once energized the heating elements provide heat to the water, heatingthe water and opening the valve 46.

Once again at the end of the brewing process once the water has drainedfrom the reservoir and after a predetermined period of time in responseto the cooling or other state transition of the valve 46, the valve willclose. The normally closed valve 46 allows the brewer to be reset forthe next brew cycle at the conclusion of each brew cycle.

The present configuration also allows the container 38 to be used as thesupply source for water 42 to the reservoir 28 a. In this regard, adesired quantity of water can be placed in the container 38 and used totransfer the water to the reservoir. The use of the sensor 88 allows theuser to pour water into the reservoir yet not allow the brewing cycle tostart. The brewing cycle will not start due to the absence of thecontainer 38 thereby preventing the sensor 88 from detecting thecontainer. Once the water is dispensed from the container to thereservoir the container can be placed on the support structure 24 awhereupon the sensor 88 detects the presence of the container andprovides a signal to the controller 84 to permit the initiation of thebrewing cycle. The wattage associated with the heaters 50 can beselected to provide the optimum heating condition in combination withthe passive control valve 46. This will permit a sufficient amount ofenergy to be transferred to the water in the reservoir while not wastinga significant amount of heat which might otherwise radiate to thesurrounding environment. This helps to further conserve energy.

Also, any number of materials associated with the present disclosure canbe provided from recycled sources. For example the support structure 24can be provided of a recycled material as well as the reservoir, holder32, and container 38. The incorporation and use of these materials helpenhance the favorable characteristics this brewer. Additionally, byminimizing the components used in this brewer and in particularproviding a brewer which has few if any circuit components, therecycleability of the brewer can be enhanced. This will help furtherprovide incentive to a manufacturer to produce a brewer which can bereturned to the manufacturer for disassembly and future recycling.Additionally, if the brewer can be produced at a low enough price pointthe brewer can be returned to the manufacturer for material recovery.This also permits the return and recovery of materials in the event ofdamage to the machine or failure of any components.

With reference to FIG. 3, a brewer 100 is shown which includes areservoir 128, a brewing substance holder 132 which is positionedapproximate to an outlet 133 of the reservoir 128. During a brewingcycle, which will be explained in greater detail below, heated water isaccumulated in the reservoir and dispensed through the outlet assemblyreservoir 128 and dispensed through the outlet assembly 133. Waterflowing through the outlet assembly 133 flows into the beveragesubstance holder 132 for mixing with a brewing substance (not shown)retained in the substance holder 132. A brewed beverage 164 drains fromthe holder 132 into a corresponding container 138 there below.

The outlet assembly 133 includes a control valve 146. Variousembodiments of the control valve 146 will be described in further detailbelow with reference to FIGS. 5-12. Water is dispensed into thereservoir 128 and prevented from flowing out through the outlet assembly133 by the control valve 146 which is in a normally closed position.During a heating process water retained in the reservoir 128 will beheated to a selected or generally predetermined temperature by theheating element and during which the temperature corresponds to acontrol temperature of the control valve. Once the selected controltemperature is reached the control valve then opens and allows water toflow through the outlet assembly 133.

While the overall operation of the embodiment is shown in FIG. 3, issimilar to that as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the method of heating isdifferent between the two embodiments. While a heating element 50 isshown positioned generally in or proximate to the reservoir 128 in FIG.1, a heating system 150 is used on the embodiment of FIG. 3. As shown inFIG. 3, the heating system 150 includes an outlet passage 151 coupled toand connecting with the reservoir at port 52 providing a passage forwater to flow from the reservoir 128 to a heating element 153. Waterflowing through the passage 151 flows into the heating element 153. Theheating element is controllably heated via power line 154. As the wateris heated in the heating element 153 it is passed to the outlet line 155to flow back to the reservoir through a port 156 communicating with thereservoir 128.

This heating system provides a circuitous heating path by which water inthe reservoir 128 is heated. The heating path provides an efficient wayto transfer energy from the heating element 153 to the water therebyraising the temperature of the water. When the water in the reservoir128 is heated to a target temperature, or general range of temperaturesin a target range, the control valve 146 opens in response to achievingthe target temperature and allows water to flow from the reservoir 128.

The disclosed embodiment provides for an efficient transfer of heat fromthe heating element 153 to the water and helps reduce cost of theoverall brewing system. The type of heating element 153 can be obtainedat relatively low cost. This helps eliminates more costly heatingelements which might be retained within the reservoir. In addition, thematerials used to fabricate the reservoir can be lower cost. The lowercost associated with merely holding heated water and not holding aheating element. The heating element could require more costly materialsassociated with an electrically energized heating element in the tank.The absence of placing the heating element in the reservoir helps reducethe cost of the reservoir. In other words, a plastic or nonmetallicreservoir 128 can be used in combination with a low cost energyefficient heating element 153. By placing the control valve 146 in afloor 160 portion of the reservoir 128 all of the water retained in thereservoir can drain off of corresponding walls 162, along the floor 160and into the control valve 146.

A spray head 170 can be included in the outlet assembly 133. The sprayhead 130 can be used to direct the flow of water 172 to different areasof the brewing substance holder 132. A connecting port 180 communicatingwith both of the control valve 146 and the spray head 170 can be used tocontrol the flow rate. The port 180 can be incorporated in the sprayhead 170 or maybe a separate component.

In use, a user places water into the reservoir 128 of FIG. 3. Water isretained therein until a brewing cycle is initiated. A brewing cycle isinitiated when the user controls the brewer by pressing a button or someother controlled device to provide energy to the heating element 153. Asthe heating element 153 heats up water flows through the outlet passage151 towards the heating element. As the water is heated in the heatingelement it returns to the reservoir 128 through outlet passage 155. Whenthe water has achieved its desired temperature, the control valve 146 isoperated in response to the target temperature and allows water to flowfrom the reservoir 128 to the spray head 170. The water may range intemperature depending on the brewing substance being used in thesubstance holder 132. The corresponding elements of the control valve146 can be selected so as to provide a desired target temperature orrange of temperatures.

With reference to FIGS. 5-8, the control valve assembly 146 is shown.While one version of the control valve assembly 146 is shown otherembodiments may be produced as well. Generally, the control valveassembly includes a housing 300 which includes a cover 310 and a base312. A floor 314 of the base 312 includes an offset outlet 180communicating with an internal surface of the base 312. A bimetallicelement 320 is positioned in the base in a normally closedconfiguration. A seal 322 is positioned between the floor 314 of thebase and the rim of the bimetallic element 320. The cover is attached tothe base using retaining structure 330 and 332. Downwardly extendingwall portions 340 capture the gasket 320 against the floor 314. Afastener 342 extends through a series of corresponding holes and engagesa boss 344 in the lower 314 of the base 312. A cover includes opening346 through which water flows into the valve assembly 146. An o-ring isprovided on an outside portion of the base 312 to provide a seal betweenthe base and a corresponding portion of the reservoir. It should benoted that the control valve 146 is described herein with regard toFIGS. 5-8 can be employed in any of the embodiments disclosed.

The bimetallic element 320 is chosen for its responsive properties inthe presence of heated water. In an unheated condition the bimetallicelement 320 is generally flexed or downwardly oriented to seal againstthe seal 322 in the base 312. When the target temperature is achieved(as described above) the element 320 tends to flex upwardly therebycreating a gap between the element and the seal 322. The gap allowswater to flow from the chamber designed between the cover 310 and thebase 312 to the outlet 180. The bimetallic portion is generally retainedby the fastener 342 against displacement within the chamber.

Before turning to FIG. 4, we note that all of the descriptions providedherein are considered to be incorporated in all the various embodiments.It is believed that someone provided with the present disclosure hereinwould be able to combine these various embodiments to achieve additionalalternate embodiments. While various embodiments are shown anddescribed, applicant intends for these embodiments to be broadlyinterpreted and the embodiments are provided by way of illustration andnot limitation.

With reference to FIG. 4, the overall structure of the brewer 100 a issimilar to that shown in FIG. 3. The primary distinction between thesetwo embodiments resides in the reservoir 128 a and the outlet assembly133 a. The reservoir includes a first chamber 200 and a second chamber202 positioned below the first chamber. The ports 156 and 152 describedwith regard to FIG. 3 are still provided. However these ports 156, 152communicate with the first chamber. As such, in use, a user dispenseswater into the first chamber 200 of the reservoir 128 a.

The second chamber 202 is positioned below the first chamber 200. Thesecond chamber 202 is generally empty when water is placed into thefirst chamber 200. The second chamber 202 remains empty as a result ofthe control valve or bimetallic portion 210 being retained on a dividingwall 212. The dividing wall separates the first chamber 200 from thesecond chamber 202. The control valve 146 includes the bimetallicelement 210. The remainder of the outlet assembly including the sprayhead 170 and the passage 180 are provided in a floor 160 a of the secondchamber 202.

The second chamber is used to reduce or eliminate excessive heating ofthe water through the heating element 153. The configuration shown inFIG. 4 might be used with a higher wattage heating element 153. As aresult more energy can be transferred from the heating element 153 tothe water in the first chamber of the reservoir 200. As the waterrapidly heats, the control valve 146 opens releasing water from thefirst chamber 200 to flow into the second chamber 202. In the embodimentshown, there is no further restriction in the outlet bore 80 and sprayhead 170 and as a result water 172 flows into the brewing substanceholder 132.

By providing the second chamber 202 water which has reached a selectedtarget temperature can flow from the first chamber 200 to the secondchamber 202 preventing further heating of the water. The volume of thefirst chamber and second chamber are sized and dimensioned so as tocooperate with the overall configuration of this assembly. In thisregard it may be desirable to keep the vertical dimension of the chamber202 generally to a minimum so as to avoid significant vertical dimensionin the overall system. Additionally, the volume of the first chamber 200must be at least sufficient to hold a desired quantity of water for usein the brewing process.

The combination of the first chamber 200, second chamber 202, controlvalve 146 retained between the two chambers 200, 202 and use of a higherwattage heating element 153 helps reduce the overall brew time. The userpours water into the first chamber 200 and activates a power switch toturn on the brewer. Once the heating element 153 is energized, waterflows through the heating system 150 as described above with regard toFIG. 3. When the desired water temperature or target temperature isachieved, the control valve 146 opens to allow water to flow into thesecond chamber 202. Water is then dispensed to the brewing substanceholder 132. Another possible consideration in the volume of the chamber202 is the relationship between the flow rate through the control valve146 from the first chamber 200 to the second chamber 202 and the outletflow through the components 180, 172 of the outlet assembly 133 a. Onceagain, the conclusion of the heating cycle, water drains from thereservoir 128 a through the outlet assembly 133 a to effectively drainthe reservoir 128 a. Similar to the embodiment as described in FIG. 3,various components can be designed, engineered and produced to helpreduce costs yet provide safe and sanitary operation of the system.

FIGS. 9 and 10 and FIGS. 11 and 12 show reactive illustrations of twodifferent embodiments of control valve. The control valve shown in FIGS.9 and the control valve 146 b shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 relies on abimetallic element 320 b is cantilevered or extending from a singlepoint. This is a variation on the element 320 as shown in FIGS. 5-8.These additional embodiments are shown to provide further illustrationsin the interest of further broadening the scope of this disclosure. Assuch these additional illustrations are provided by way of enhancing thedisclosure and not to limit the disclosure.

With reference to FIGS. 9 and 10, the reservoir 128 retains water foruse in a brewing cycle. While a specific form of heating the water isnot shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, nor FIGS. 11 and 12, any form of heatingwhich has been described in the present disclosure as well as any otherform of heater which will cooperate with the present disclosure may beused. In other words, the heating strategy employed in FIGS. 1 and 2,FIG. 3, or FIG. 4 may be used in combination with these additionalcontrol valve embodiments. As shown in FIG. 9, the control valve 146 buses a bimetallic element 320 b which is normally closed. In thisregard, a seal portion 400 is shown carried on the bimetallic element320 b. The seal element engages a corresponding aperture 410 in thefloor 160 on the reservoir 128. The bore 410 communicates with thepassage 180 and the spray head 170.

When the water is heated to the target temperature, the bimetallicelement flexes in response to the elevated temperature and disengagesthe seal portion 400 from the bore 410. As a result, water can pass fromthe reservoir to the spray head 170 and to the brewing substance holder132.

A variation on the control valve 146 c is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.Instead of employing a bimetallic element which changes dimensionally inresponse to elevated temperature, a temperature sensitive magneticmaterial is employed. In this regard, the temperature sensitive magneticmaterial acts to provide a magnetic force to retain a correspondingstopper 400 c in a corresponding bore 410 in the floor 160 of thereservoir 128. When the magnetic material is heated as a result of thewater in the reservoir being heated it tends to lose some portion of itsmagnetic properties. As magnetic properties are reduced the valve 146 cwill reach a point where the magnetic field can no longer suspend thestopper 400 c. As a result, the stopper drops, within a retainingstructure, and allows water to flow through the bore 410.

It should be understood that the additional embodiments of control valve146 b, 146 c as disclosed in FIGS. 9-12 may be employed with any of thereservoir designs as shown herein. In this regard, these embodiments canbe substituted for the control valve 146 in FIG. 3 as well as thecontrol valve 146 in FIG. 4.

While this disclosure has been described as having an exemplaryembodiment, this application is intended to cover any variations, uses,or adaptations using its general principles. It is envisioned that thoseskilled in the art may devise various modifications and equivalentswithout departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as recitedin the following claims. Further, this application is intended to coversuch departures from the present disclosure as come within the known orcustomary practice within the art to which it pertains.

1. A brewer for heating water and combining the heated water withbeverage making substance to produce a beverage, the brewer comprising:at least one reservoir for receiving water; a brewing substance holderpositioned relative to the reservoir for receiving water therefrom; aheating element cooperatively associated with the reservoir for heatingwater in the reservoir; a control valve communicating with the reservoirfor controllably dispensing heated water from the reservoir, thecontrollable valve including temperature sensitive materials whichoperate the valve; wherein the reservoir heats water by means of aheating element to a temperature which causes the control valve to atleast partially open and dispense water from the reservoir to thebrewing substance holder.
 2. The brewer of claim 1 further comprising afirst reservoir and a second reservoir, the control valve beingpositioned between the first and second reservoir with the secondreservoir positioned approximate to the brewing substance holder fordispensing heated water from the second reservoir.
 3. The brewer ofclaim 1 in which the heating element includes a circuitous heating pathin which water is fed from the reservoir to the heating path andreturned to the reservoir to add heat energy in the circuitous pathuntil a selected water temperature is achieved.
 4. The brewer of claim 1in which the control valve is a passive control valve.
 5. The brewer ofclaim 1 in which the control valve includes a bimetallic portion whichis responsive to temperature, the bimetallic portion being in a normallyclosed position to prevent passage of water from the reservoir andoperating to an open position at a selected temperature.
 6. The brewerof claim 1 in which the control valve includes a magnetic portion whichis responsive to temperature, the magnetic portion being in a normallyclosed position to prevent passage of water from the reservoir andoperating to an open position at a selected temperature.
 7. The breweras in claim 1 in which the control valve is removable and replaceablewith a second control valve.
 8. The brewer as in claim 7 including aplurality of control valves, each control valve including a heatsensitive material which is responsive to a different temperature,wherein the use of a selected valve will allow brewing at a selectedpredetermined temperature.
 9. A process for producing a beverage using abeverage brewer, the brewer including at least one reservoir, a heatingelement cooperatively associated with the reservoir, a brewing substanceholder cooperatively associated with the reservoir and a passivetemperature sensitive control valve communicating with the reservoir tocontrol the flow of water out from the reservoir, the method comprising:placing water into the reservoir; activating the heating element; addingheat energy to water in the reservoir until a selected temperature isachieved; operating the passive heat sensitive control valve uponachieving a temperature associated with the control valve; dispensingwater from the reservoir for dispensing into the beverage substanceholder; infusing materials retained in the holder; dispensing beveragefrom the holder into a container.
 10. The method of claim 9 furtherincluding providing two reservoirs, a first reservoir being positionedabove a second reservoir with the passive, temperature sensitive controlvalve being positioned between the first and second reservoirs, themethod further comprising: dispensing water from the first reservoir tothe second reservoir to prevent continued heating of water afterachieving a selected temperature, dispensing water from the secondreservoir to the brewing substance holder.
 11. The method of claim 9further including providing a circuitous heating path, the methodfurther comprising: passing water from the reservoir through thecircuitous heating path for return to the reservoir during the heatingprocess.
 12. The method of claim 9 further including providing thepassive temperature sensitive control valve in the form of a bimetallicvalve, the method further comprising maintaining the control valve in anormally closed position, operating the control valve upon reaching aselected water temperature to open and dispense water from thereservoir.
 13. The method of claim 9 further including providing thepassive temperature sensitive control valve in the form of a magneticvalve, the method further comprising maintaining the control valve in anormally closed position, operating the control valve upon reaching aselected water temperature to open and dispense water from thereservoir.
 14. The method of claim 9 further including providing aplurality of control valves, removing a control valve from thereservoir, replacing the control valve with a different control valve,wherein the different control valve has a different temperature settingto facilitate brewing at a second selected temperature.